Here are more resources on knowledge management and knowledge retention in the age of Baby Boomer retirements.
General Articles
Resources on Knowledge Management
Resources on Organizational Change
Resources on Social Network Analysis
“Strategies for Preventing a Knowledge-Loss Crisis” By Salvatore Parise, Rob Cross and Thomas H. Davenport
This article looks at the problems firms have in retaining knowledge when employees depart or are dismissed. The issue is a serious one: one in six Americans is a contract worker, and nearly 20% of those in managerial, administrative and executive positions are set to retire by 2008. Potentially even more damaging are the loss of valuable “networking knowledge” and the severing of internal and external relationships when workers leave. The authors categorize employees in three ways: as “central connectors”, sought for their knowledge and contacts; “brokers”, who make contacts with different groups within the organization; and “peripheral players”, who rarely venture outside their group. The damage caused by the loss of a “central connecter” can be lessened, the authors suggest, by encouraging the connector to form relationships with newcomers. Note: there is a modest charge to view the full article.
From the Gallup Management Journal: Start Finding Tomorrow's Leaders Now
In 2006, the oldest of the baby boomers will turn 60, which will mean big changes in the workplace. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, baby boomers will reach the traditional retirement age of 65 between 2011 and 2029, and "their retirements will dramatically affect the workforce of the future."
From the Gallup Management Journal: Building Your "Bench Strength" (Part 1)
Selecting and developing future managers is a crucial task -- and a big concern for many companies, particularly for leadership roles. In a study by the Corporate Leadership Council, 72% of companies predict they'll have an increasing number of leadership vacancies over the next three to five years. At the same time, 76% are "less than confident" in their abilities to adequately staff these positions.
From the Gallup Management Journal: Building Your "Bench Strength" (Part 2)
Selecting and developing future leaders is critical. Yet most organizations apply little or no rigor to identifying and grooming their top players. This article discusses how to change that.
There are three elements you need to manage effectively:
First, make sure the organization understands and nurtures each employee's unique talents and potential through individual career planning and development activities. Best-practice organizations don't leave leadership development to chance; they actively drive a potential leader's growth and development.
Second, aggregate and evaluate the organization's talent pool to identify potential leadership gaps and suitable candidates.
Third, ensure that executives make the necessary succession and development decisions through group discussion and review sessions so that the talent requirements of the business are met.
Here is a briefing document on Knowledge Management titled "Straight Talk about Knowledge Management for CEOs."
In addition, I have prepared two special knowledge management web pages.
Misconceptions and the History of Knowledge Management
Basic Knowledge Management Concepts and Definitions
Here are some other Knowledge Management sites/publications.
Professor John Kotter of Harvard wrote the book on large scale organizational change. It's called Leading Change and it includes Kotter's Eight Stage Process for Creating Major Change. It's worth reading because almost all change consultants today use some form of Kotter's process.
There are lots of books and articles out there on social network analysis. Fortunately, Karen Otazo wrote an excellent article for Strategy and Business to help us make sense of them. The article is called "On Trust and Culture." In the article she reviews five books on the subject.
